TAXI DRIVER WITH UNLICENSED GUN ALLOWED TO KEEP THEIR LICENCE

Taxi drivers are being allowed to keep their private hire or hackney licences despite being convicted of multiple crimes - including one involving an unlicensed gun.

And Derbyshire Live can reveal that some of these drivers may be operating in Derby despite having received their licence in Erewash.

All of the drivers involved have been called before Erewash Borough Council’s Drivers Licensing Panel, where councillors determined whether or not they were “a fit and proper person” to keep their licence.

Minutes from those meetings are publicly available on the council's website.

One driver came before the panel because he had been arrested for possession of a firearmwithout a certificate as well as possession of an explosive substance for an unlawful purpose.

The taxi driver was sentenced to a three-month community order curfew with a tag and a £170 fine.

But at a council meeting on May 25, councillors told the driver he could continue to hold a licence, after hearing the explosives charge had been dropped.

At the same meeting, councillors were asked to consider if another driver should be granted a licence.

The driver had received six penalty points for using an uninsured vehicle and a conviction for "supplying prohibited goods". He also received a caution for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The driver had previously applied for a licence in December 2016 but was refused, with the council saying he was not “a fit and proper person”.

But that did not stop councillors then granting him a licence in May.

Derbyshire police got involved with one case where a driver had been caught speeding in Ladywood Road, Ilkeston, but claimed their partner was driving at the time. It emerged that the driver then admitted to driving the vehicle.

Council officers interviewed the driver, who admitted “nominating his partner” for the offence and was “confused as to who was driving at the time”.

In 2018, the same driver was was caught using their mobile phone whilst driving, totting up their penalty points to nine. But, once again, the driver was continue to operating as a taxi driver.

One driver, who previously held a licence with Gedling Borough Council, applied for a licence with Erewash Borough Council in December.

A police check found they had ten convictions dating back to 2008 and was given two years imprisonment in 2010. Councillors granted him a licence in April.

Derbyshire Live previously wrote how a banned taxi driver was allowed to operate despite having three previous complaints to his name.

It took a fourth incident which involved a fight with another driver in Derby to emerge for Erewash Borough Council to finally strip him of his licence.

Derbyshire Live asked the council how many of the drivers it licences operate in Derby but a spokeswoman said it could not provide a figure as "the law allows drivers to gain licences in one authority and then work outside of this area".

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Councillor Kewal Singh Athwal, chair of the Erewash licensing panel said: “The overriding consideration is public safety and this is paramount in the decision-making process. If there is any doubt and the council’s Drivers Licensing Panel is not satisfied that a person is fit and proper, then a licence is refused or revoked.

“Drivers have extensive checks undertaken before they are granted a licence and are regularly reviewed to ensure that our standards remain consistently high.

“The Panel has considered 20 existing drivers/applicants since 2016; out of the 20, five were refused licences, three licences were revoked and seven conduct warnings were issued. An additional driver’s licence was immediately revoked on the grounds of driving offences committed.”